Driving a golf buggy for the first time? 5 top tips

One of the best parts of a trip to a golf course or even a holiday away with friends golfing is the chance to get behind the wheel of a golf buggy. The buggy makes the journey around the course more pleasant and ultimately much more efficient. However, for first timers, there may be some anxiety about what to expect from these little cars and therefore we thought we’d put together a handy list of the top five tips for driving a golf buggy for the first time.

You still need to be careful!

You might look at the buggy and assume it’ll be a slow moving vehicle that is easy to operate however this is still a machine you need to take seriously and therefore it’s important to strap in and always put your seatbelt on. The car can reach 14mph and whilst this isn’t too quick, juniors or senior players might not be able to get out of the way quickly enough if you cause an accident.

What to do when you accelerate and brake

Once everyone is properly strapped into the car, then you can get away. The buggy is equipped with both an accelerator and a brake and therefore to get started place your foot slowly on the accelerating pedal. The buggy is sensitive and therefore the driver shouldn’t apply too much pressure and lose control early on. Start off slow and build, just as you would in a car so that you can understand the power of the buggy and rate of acceleration. Equally, make sure you apply your brakes cautiously to avoid having to employ emergency stops. It’s worth being extra careful of the course that excessive or inappropriate movements don’t damage the fairways, greens or paths. Needless to say, you absolutely shouldn’t be driving on any greens anyway!

Slow down on corners

Golf courses have a notorious number of corners and even travelling at 11mph around a corner could send a passenger out of the buggy and could potentially cause injuries. The carts don’t have doors and therefore slow down when taking a corner to reduce the chances of accidents. Furthermore, pathways are usually only built for one cart at a time, so always be aware of other golf buggies coming head on to you. If you do see another golf buggy coming in your direction, pull to the side and let them through unless they let you through.

Driving at night

If you are teeing off later in the day then you may need to drive the buggy back in the dark. You needn’t worry as most carts are equipped with headlights, brake lights, turning signals as well as reflective devices. However, it is not advisable to driving when it’s that dark and many clubs may restrict access to golf buggies too late in the day. If it’s too dark to be driving the golf buggy, it’s most definitely too late to be playing golf!

Get insurance!

You may be a very responsible driver and take all the necessary steps to avoid injury to yourself and your passengers however you can’t guarantee other drivers will be acting the same way. Therefore, it is worth getting specialised golf buggy insurance to protect not only yourself and your passengers health, but also your wallet!